When is the NASA SLS launch date?

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I read somewhere the full stack is only rated for two more trips back and forth. After that I guess they are required to de-stack or something?
 
I heard a similar concern. Kind of weird to think that vibration from rollback could create a problem for something that must vibrate like all hell on launch.

Similarly, funny to think that 100MPH sideways wind is a problem for something that will go Mach+.

(Yeah I know, probably not the wind, but the water and debris...)
 
Based on my experience as a seasoned rocketeer, it's probably because they are afraid they'll drop it... and break off a fin....

Been There, Done That.
I bent the nose of my Estes Saturn V bring it back from a launch site after we ran out of time. Pressed against back side of front seat. Road travel is dangerous for rockets of all sizes. 😆 (now repaired)
 
Hi TRF colleagues,

I would just like to have this confirmed, please.

Is the Artemis 1 headed back to the Vehicle Assembly Building?

Thank you.

Stanley
 
This is the best statement I could find in 4 minutes:

"Managers are set to meet this evening to discuss whether or not a rollback of the rocket to the VAB is needed. If the rocket stays at the pad, there’s a chance SLS could launch during the Oct. 2 window that opens at 2:52 p.m. EDT.

”The exact time of a potential rollback will depend on future weather predictions throughout the day and could occur Monday or very early Tuesday morning,” the agency said."


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/tech...n-preparing-for-possible-rollback/ar-AA12con3
 
This is the best statement I could find in 4 minutes:

"Managers are set to meet this evening to discuss whether or not a rollback of the rocket to the VAB is needed. If the rocket stays at the pad, there’s a chance SLS could launch during the Oct. 2 window that opens at 2:52 p.m. EDT.

”The exact time of a potential rollback will depend on future weather predictions throughout the day and could occur Monday or very early Tuesday morning,” the agency said."


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/tech...n-preparing-for-possible-rollback/ar-AA12con3
Right, what @Funkworks just posted confuses me. Post #307 and Post #310 are contradictory, aren't they?
 
They're PREPARING for a rollback... the actual decision will be made tomorrow. Given the other possible issues (remote destruct batteries, H2 leaks), rolling it back to work on it there may be the best option. If it costs them a month more in delays, so be it... they're years behind schedule anyway so a few more weeks isn't going to matter much.
 
Same article I posted above, but updated 1 hour ago:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/tech...n-preparing-for-possible-rollback/ar-AA12con3
"The latest information, NASA said in a statement, points to “a slower moving and potentially more westerly track of the storm than yesterday’s predictions showed, providing more time for the agency’s decision making process and for employees to prioritize their families should the storm impact the Kennedy Space Center area.”

Managers are set to meet this evening to discuss whether or not a rollback of the rocket to the VAB is needed. If the rocket stays at the pad, there’s a chance SLS could launch during the Oct. 2 window that opens at 2:52 p.m. EDT.
"

The exact time of a potential rollback will depend on future weather predictions throughout the day and could occur Monday or very early Tuesday morning,” the agency said."

Looks like it still depends on the weather, so the chances of a rollback are somewhere between 0% and 100%. 😆

Summary: :questions:
 
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I found this article by Eric Berger to be very insightful:
https://arstechnica.com/science/202...ng-to-happen-to-nasa-but-maybe-also-the-best/He says SLS may be the worst thing because of the enormous cost due to pork barrel politics and cost plus contracts. But he says it might be the best thing because it allowed NASA to develop a deep space exploration program (albeit tied to using SLS). SLS can serve as an intermediate heavy launch vehicle until Starship, New Glenn and other private sector heavy lift vehicles under development come online.
Excerpts:
"The cost-plus contracting mechanism NASA used to fund development of the vehicle incentivizes Boeing and other contractors to spend more time and money working on a vehicle because they get more fees for a longer period. The SLS was sold to the public as a rocket that would be developed on time and on budget because it was derivative of the shuttle and used heritage hardware. Its cost-plus contract ensured the opposite occurred."

"In its fiscal year 2011 budget request, the Obama administration sought to cancel the Ares I and Ares V rockets, as well as Orion, and instead spend $3.1 billion to fund the development of a future heavy-lift launch system. Essentially, this money would have been competed for by private industry, allowing them to perform research and development on propulsion technologies. The goal was to finalize the designs of new commercial rockets by 2015 and start to build them thereafter through a public-private partnership. Had this program happened, SpaceX Starship and Blue Origin's New Glenn vehicles might already be flying regularly."

"Nominally, the second SLS mission is due to fly in 2024, but it will probably slip into 2025. Conceivably, Starship could launch a dozen times between now and then. Maybe 30 times. Perhaps more. More than a decade ago, the Augustine commission said NASA should find a sustainable trajectory. Low-cost, reusable rockets are, quite clearly, NASA's sustainable trajectory."
 
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